by Jeffery Rahming, Contributing Writer
Ridley Scott is one of the most reputable directors in Hollywood, but he’s still somewhat underrated by the general public. It seems insane to say that about the director of Alien and Blade Runner, but he doesn’t have the household name recognition of Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg, despite arguably having a canon just as deep as theirs.
Scott’s 2000 film Gladiator quickly became a modern classic. To say this is a sequel nobody wanted isn’t exactly true. Anyone who’s seen it knows it doesn’t exactly naturally set itself up for a sequel. In a year absolutely stuffed with sequels, it can be tempting to view Gladiator II as just another cash grab, but it’s actually a passion project for Scott, who’s tried multiple times to get another Gladiator movie off the ground with various concepts, including one where Maximus is resurrected to kill Jesus and end Christianity (yes, really). While the end product is nowhere near as provocative as that idea, the result is a blast, even if it stands in its predecessor’s shadow.
Paul Mescal plays Hanno, a man captured by the Romans and forced to fight in the Colosseum. He has a connection to Rome that he kept a secret from the village he was taken from, but now that he’s returned, he has no choice but to face his past head-on. Hanno finds himself at the center of a dangerous game, not just in the arena, but within the government. Rome is on the brink of destruction. The twin emperors, Geta and Caracalla (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger) have more interest in the games than in fixing their quickly declining country. A cunning bureaucrat named Macrinus (Denzel Washington) and General Acacius (Pablo Pascal) both have plans to take control of the empire from the twins, and Hanno is just another pawn in their game. Or is he?
That Scott, at 86, can still put together a massive film like this is an impressive feat. The scale of Gladiator II is wonderful — the costumes and sets alone are masterworks of craft. At this point, he is one of the few directors capable of getting a big-budget history epic like this off the ground. The rest need monsters or superheroes. As fun as the swordplay is, the political machinations are just as fun, because that’s where Washington’s Macrinus gets to shine. The inner workings of the broken Roman system and watching Macrinus manipulate and connive his way through it are some of the best scenes. Our three leads give masterful performances. Mescal proves his mettle as a leading man. There’s a visceral intensity he brings to the role. His face is a mask of anger and vengeance throughout the whole movie. Pascal is surprisingly emotional and nuanced as the conflicted general trying to take his country away from tyranny. And of course, Washington is fantastic, which, at this point, could go without saying. Every line from him is a new adventure.
I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot. Some of the directions the story went feel hacky, but overall, it’s fun. However, it struggles to deal with the legacy of the original. Every reference back to the first movie feels unnecessary and forced. With a couple of changes, this could be a completely standalone sequel, and nothing would be that different. Another issue is that as good as the story is, the ending rushes everything. For all the pieces at play in the politics game, the way we wrap it up feels very simple. It’s like Scott perfectly lined up a great climax and didn’t quite get there in execution. However, despite some of the choices near the end, I still think the ride to get there was good enough.
Though it never hits the heights of its precursor, Gladiator II is a worthy sequel that’s an entertaining watch. Sword and sandal epics like these are rarely given the green light nowadays, and this proves that we can still have blockbusters based on realism and history instead of just CGI superheroes and gun-slinging assassins. Don’t expect it to be the first one and you’ll have a good time.
Rating: Liked It
Gladiator II is currently playing in theaters
You can read more from Jeffery Rahming, and follow him on Twitter